No More Pillows
by Appleye2
Summary: Modern AU. When Hiccup's wife Astrid was expecting their first child, he knew there would be many challenges coming their way. He just didn't expect Astrid to turn into a thief.


**I wrote this a while ago and forgot about it. Modern AU one-shot story with Hiccup and Astrid preparing for their first child. Not so sure about it though. See what you think.**

* * *

Hiccup walked into the bedroom he shared with his very heavily pregnant wife, Astrid. It had been a long and tiring day, and he yearned for sleep. Yawning, he rubbed the stubble on his face with one hand, trailing the other over the upper arm of his beloved wife as he passed. Astrid was getting ready for bed too, doing what he could really only describe as….nesting. As her belly had grown, so had her insatiable desire for pillows. None were safe. All the pillows in the house had slowly ended up on her side of the bed.

Hiccup himself liked to sleep with three pillows, but tonight he noticed something was missing. His most favorite pillow to be exact. The one that was on the top of his pile. He liked it because it was just the right thickness to tuck under his chin. A quick glance to the right showed him where it had disappeared too. It was under his wife's arm, as she eased herself onto the side of the bed and swung her legs up onto the mattress.

Sighing gratefully at being able to take the weight off her feet, she nestled into her selection of pillows. Some were tucked under her protruding belly, and another was placed between her knees. Her latest acquisition, however, stayed under her arm.

"Is that my pillow?" Hiccup asked carefully, slightly miffed at losing his best pillow.

"No," came Astrid's short reply. She flicked mildly guilty eyes at him, but was otherwise completely unrepentant.

"I think it is," he disagreed, a small smirk on his lips.

"Nope. I don't think so. This one fits just right. So it can't be your pillow," she told him, wriggling herself into her favorite groove in the mattress.

"No, it most definitely is mine. I used to have three. Now there only two pillows on my side," said Hiccup, lifting an amused eyebrow. Really, he should have guessed this day would come. He'd already seen how voracious her appetite was for the fluff filled creations. It was only a matter of time before her eyes landed on his faithful comforters.

"Maybe you didn't count right," suggested Astrid, closing her eyes in contented bliss.

"Counting to three has always been my favorite way to go to sleep," he informed her dryly. "One, two, three pillows. Now there's only two."

She opened her eyes just so she could roll them at him. "Well, you can't have any of mine. I need them all," she told him with a huff.

"All of them?" asked Hiccup in amusement.

"Yes….all of them," Astrid confirmed. She wriggled a little bit, wrinkling her nose. "Can you push that pillow behind my back a little further in, please?" she asked wearily.

Hiccup leaned forward to help out. Some pregnant women had bellies that tucked in neatly, barely noticeable. Others…like Astrid….were all the way out front. When she went to bed, her large belly made it difficult to get into a comfortable position. Which was why she needed so many pillows. And why she had stolen Hiccup's.

"There. Is that better?" he asked, standing up again.

She wriggled a little, checking his workmanship. Her nose wrinkled and her mouth puckered up in discomfort. He sighed to himself. It was going to be one of those nights, apparently.

"I need another pillow," she decided. "That one's not enough."

Hiccup's eyebrows rose straight up. "Another one? We could buy shares in the pillow factory with the amount of cushions you've got tucked in around you."

She pouted.

He sighed in defeat, and reached over her to grab the pillow from his side of the bed. She gave him a satisfied smirk as he tucked it in behind her back.

"Is that good?" he asked.

She frowned in thought. "Hmm. Another pillow would be better."

Hiccup shook his head vigorously. "Uh…no! There's only one pillow left in the entire house, and it's mine," he told her energetically. Pregnant or not, she wasn't getting his last one. He'd already sacrificed two.

"Please," she begged from her position lying on the bed. She pouted up at him, giving him the sad eye.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You can pick that bottom lip up, Missy. It won't work. Shuffle some of the others around."

"But I _need_ it," she begged.

He gazed at her pointedly. "Are you really telling me, you can't work with the fifty-nine pillows you already have? You seriously expect me to sleep flat on the mattress while you're right beside me all swaddled up in cotton fluff?" he asked dryly.

"Yes."

Hiccup gave a loud laugh.

Astrid was not impressed. "Why is that a problem? You've done it before."

"Yes, but I wasn't able to sleep very well. Turns out I need a pillow for that," he told her with a grin.

"So do I. Only one more," she replied with a pleading glance at him.

He smiled indulgently at her, stroking her shoulder. "No you don't, my glorious Queen of Pillowland. You'll be fine."

She huffed, then pouted. "You try being pregnant with this massively huge belly. I feel like I'm carrying a baby elephant around."

He grinned. "Well, I'm sure the elephant mama would be happy to swap with you."

She frowned and slapped his arm. "You know what I mean."

He gave an understanding smile, gently stroking the loose hair from her face. "Yes, I do. But think about this, Astrid. Our baby is in there…inside you. A little human that you and I made together. And I'm excited for the time when we finally get to meet him or her. You're carrying a precious bundle, Astrid."

She looked up hopefully. "Does that mean you'll give me your pillow?"

He laughed delightedly. "Nope! You'll have to do without my one measly little cushion."

She heaved a huge sigh, looking slightly disgruntled.

He patted her arm. "The baby will be here soon. Then you won't need all the pillows," he tried to reassure her.

She groaned. "I'm almost due date. I swear I'll be pregnant forever! This baby is never coming out," she complained.

Hiccup laughed again. Leaning forward he kissed her temple, then stood up, his fingers caressing her hip lovingly. "Yes it will. Are you comfy enough for now?" he asked.

She sighed. "Yes, I suppose that will have to do," she told him grudgingly.

"Good. Now it's my turn to get into bed. I'm totally knackered." Walking around to his side of the bed, he gratefully crawled in between the sheets, resting his head on his slightly lowered cushion pile of one. Despite this, he very quickly drifted off to sleep.

-oOo-

Hiccup was dreaming. He could hear Astrid calling his name. But his jaw felt too slack to answer, his limbs too heavy to move. He wanted to find her, but his body wouldn't allow it. Her voice sounded again. He decided to ignore it, and sink into oblivion instead. Suddenly a sharp smack across his chest earned his instant attention.

"Hiccup!" came Astrid's voice.

Hiccup rubbed his face with his hands. "Whassup," he mumbled tiredly.

"I need to pee," was her urgent response.

"And you're telling me this because...?" he let the words hang in midair, waiting for an obvious answer that he had somehow missed.

"I can't get out of bed."

"Why not?" he asked, puzzled.

"I'm locked in."

Understanding brought a slow smile to his lips. "Ahh...the ruler of Fluffdom is being held captive by her subjects, hmmm?" he sniggered.

"It's not funny, Hiccup. Help me up," she demanded.

He sighed. Getting out of bed, he wearily stumbled round to her side and took the pillows she held out to him, then tugged out the ones she couldn't reach.

"There. You're free. Go fly, my little one," he told her glibly, the extra pillows thrown back over the sheets.

She shot him a look that promised pain, and attempted to roll out of bed. Unfortunately, she didn't get far. Reluctantly, she shot her arm out and glared at him, daring him to say anything about it. He raised an eyebrow and lifted one corner of his mouth in a playful smirk, but wisely said nothing. He simply took hold of her arm and gently helped her to stand up.

She found her balance, but had parting words of advice for him. "Stay," she said firmly.

He gave her a loose salute and a wide grin, flopping back on the bed while she watched him.

"Just keeping the bed warm for you," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then headed off for the bathroom.

Hiccup managed to fall asleep in the few minutes Astrid was gone, and she had to shake him awake so she could get him to move out of the road.

He sat up, yawning. "Is this going to be a routine event?" he asked, standing up and waiting for her to nestle back into her spot.

She pulled a face. "Probably. This kid's been using my bladder as a trampoline. I can barely last a couple of hours before I have to pee again." She stuck a leg forward. "Look at my ankles. I can't see my feet past my stomach, and my ankles have swollen to the size of tree trunks," she complained.

"I know," he soothed automatically, tucking the extra pillows in around her.

She frowned. "How do you know? Are you carrying Godzilla around in _your_ womb?"

He stood back in astonishment. "Godzilla? Is there something you haven't told me?" he asked, attempting to hide his laughter and look serious.

Astrid rolled her eyes and tried to swat him, but he shifted out of her reach. "No, you muttonhead. This one is all yours. You did this to me," she accused him.

Hiccup walked round to his side of the bed, and hopped onto the mattress. Cuddling up behind her, he leaned over and snuck his arm around her belly, rubbing tiny circles with his thumb. He kissed her shoulder, then the side of her neck. "From what I remember, there were two of us at that event," he reminded her in a sultry voice against her ear, his warm breath washing over her skin in a way that made her shiver. She turned her face to kiss him properly. Hiccup wasn't slow to respond.

They separated. "I know. That part was fun. This bit…not so much," she told him quietly.

"It will all be worthwhile…I promise you," he said, rubbing her stomach in a reassuring manner.

She yawned. "I believe you…but only if you take the next shift when it's time to go to the loo again," she murmured sleepily, already drifting back to the land of Nod.

Hiccup settled back onto his one remaining pillow with a yawn. He wanted to curl up close behind her so he could keep his arm around her stomach, but all the extra cushions she had tucked in made it almost impossible to reach her. He still managed to keep a hand over her hip, at least.

-oOo-

After the third interruption to his dreams to help Astrid out of bed, Hiccup was rapidly becoming a stumbling fool. Getting one foot in front of another in a straight line was a near impossibility. He was sitting on the bed, his head hanging limply as he fought to stay awake.

"Hiccup?"

He quickly rose to his feet, making way for her. She didn't move. Glancing up, he paused at the strange expression on her face. She was leaning slightly forwards and holding onto the lower half of her belly with both arms. She appeared nervous and frightened, all at the same time.

Hiccup was immediately concerned.

"Astrid? What's wrong?"

She struggled to maintain her composure, causing Hiccup's anxiety to shoot through the roof. "M'lady, talk to me. Is it the baby?"

She nodded.

"Is it coming?"

"I think so."

He quickly took her in his arms. But he had to hold her sideways to get close enough.

"It's going to be okay, you'll see. We'll get through this together," he told her, breathless with nervous excitement.

"What's this 'we' business? I'm the one doing hard labour," she snapped suddenly.

"Oh, of course. Yes, m'lady. And I will do everything you need me to do," he told her quickly.

"Good…can you please rub my lower back, cause I feel a contraction coming on," she told him, leaning over the bed and grimacing as her stomach muscles pulled in tight.

Astrid moaned quietly through the uncomfortable sensation while Hiccup dutifully rubbed her back for her, anxious about the obvious pain his wife was in, but highly excited about finally getting to meet their child.

When it was over, she stood there with her head hanging and panted lightly.

Hiccup thought now might be the time to move. "Shall I get your bag? Is it all packed? What about the baby's things? Do you know where they are?" he asked, on the verge of panicking, and stumbling around the bedroom looking for the bag that had been sitting in the living room for the last few weeks.

"Outside, doofus," said Astrid, rolling her eyes at him and standing up.

"Oh right. Do you know where the keys are? We need to go," he said to her, rushing through to the living room and stubbing his toe on the coffee table on the way past. "Ouch! Who put that there?" he asked, cursing as he hopped on one foot.

"You did…about six months ago," she reminded him dryly, slowly waddling to the cupboard to pull some clothes out.

"Well, it jumped out and bit me," he complained with an embarrassed pout.

"Sure it did," she said, rolling her eyes while she changed out of her pyjamas.

"Have you had another contraction yet? I'm supposed to be timing them, aren't I?" he asked in a frazzle, racing back to her side and putting a hand on her distended stomach.

She brushed his hand away so she could finish dressing. "It's fine. I'm only early stages so far. This baby will take a while yet," she told him.

"How long's a while?" he asked cautiously.

"Probably hours," she told him, buttoning up her shirt.

"Oh…." he said, feeling deflated. They had done all their peri-natal training in the weeks previously, but as soon as that first pain had hit his wife, everything they had learned had immediately fled his mind.

"So…what do we do now then?" he asked, at a loss.

"Watch TV? Or you can sleep if you want," she suggested to him.

At the mention of sleep, his hand automatically came up to smother a yawn. It had already been a lengthy night with a lot of interruptions. "I can't do that, I want to support you," he told her, covering another yawn.

"I'll let you know when I need your help," she told him, heading into the kitchen for a drink. She was starting to feel a little nauseous.

The night carried on, with Hiccup becoming more and more tired as he did his best to help his beautiful wife through her contractions. Finally, he crashed on the couch, his head back and his mouth hanging open as he slept. Astrid was leaning over the kitchen bench with the watch in her hand, rocking her hips and keeping time on the latest contraction. They were still very uncomfortable but not unbearable as yet. But the clock told her it was time to shift towards the hospital. The contractions were much closer together and Astrid was feeling as if she had already endured three marathons.

She slowly waddled over to her snoozing husband, "Hiccup."

"Mmm?" he mumbled, smacking his lips before letting his mouth fall open again.

"Hiccup! It's time to move," she told him a little louder this time.

"Wha..? Where we goin'?" he asked, yawning as he sat up.

"Hospital," she told him firmly.

"Oh….okay," he mumbled, dragging himself forward off the couch. "I think I better have a shower to wake me up," he slurred sleepily to her, heading towards the bathroom.

"Now?" asked Astrid in surprise. She wanted to go to the hospital, and he wanted a shower? She sighed, and settled into the armchair to wait, expecting he would only be a few minutes and then they could leave.

Half an hour later, and Astrid was beginning to sweat a little from the contractions. Hiccup finally strolled casually out of the shower.

"How are you going? Any more contractions?" he asked, rubbing his hair dry with the towel.

"I haven't stopped having them," she told him through gritted teeth, her grip tight on the armrests of the chair.

"What? And you let me take a shower?" He went straight back into panic mode.

"No, I didn't let you. You just did it!" she said to him tightly. "Can we go now?"

"Uh…yeah. Where's the bag again? Do you need it? Oh dear, where's the keys? Astrid, I can't find the keys? Are you going to deliver on the floor? Oh no, I don't know how to deliver a baby! Astrid, stop having a baby!" he told her in rapid fire, pacing across the room trying to find the car keys and the bag which were clearly sitting on the bench next to the door.

"Bit late for that, isn't it?" she asked, not really amused by anything right now.

"Oh sorry."

"Stop saying sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"And Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"Can you please put some clothes on," she said, indicating his pyjamas he had put back on.

"Oh…right." Hiccup raced into their room to get dressed. He didn't take long, soon coming back to rush his wife out the door. When he attempted to open the car door for her, he realized something.

"The keys and the bag are on the bench. Don't forget to lock the house," Astrid told her bamboozled husband.

When he sheepishly returned with the required items, she asked, "Are you going to forget the baby like this?"

His eyes opened comically wide. "NO! Why would you say that?" he asked, as he helped her into the car.

"Cause you brought your work bag, and not my bag."

"Oh, crap! Wait a moment. I'll be back," he said, racing into the house.

"I should have started walking. I'd be there by now," she muttered to herself, as she shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. It felt like she was sitting on a watermelon.

Finally, they were on their way. Hiccup drove like a madman through the quiet night streets, pulling up in front of the emergency department of the hospital. Running around to Astrid's door, he helped her out and led her through the doors, looking for directions to the maternity ward. A nurse came over.

"Sir, you'll have to leave."

"What? My wife's having a baby…." he said in agitation.

"Yes, but sir, you've left your car parked in front of the doors. Other vehicles can't get past you," the nurse explained, taking Astrid's elbow and helping her towards the correct doorway.

"Oh... right. I'll go shift it. Astrid, don't start without me," he said anxiously, racing off.

"Pretty sure I already did," she murmured. Turning towards the nurse she asked, "Are all husbands like this?"

The nurse laughed quietly. "Pretty much."

"Oh great. Well at least we've kept up with the status quo."

Astrid and the nurse were already at the reception of the maternity ward by the time Hiccup arrived, puffing from running up three flights of stairs because he was too impatient to wait for the elevator.

After answering all the questions, a different nurse led them into their birthing suite. Astrid sat on the side of the bed.

"Would you like some more pillows?" asked the nurse innocently.

Hiccup groaned while Astrid giggled. "Yes please."

Hiccup turned to the nurse. "Just so you know now…this woman is a pillow thief. All pillows seem to gravitate towards her," he told her seriously.

Astrid smacked him.

The nurse gave him an odd look. "I'm sure we'll manage."

To Astrid she said quietly, "Is he always like this?"

Astrid grinned at her bemused husband. "Yes. I'm afraid so."

"I'm right here you know," Hiccup said loudly.

The nurse turned to him briskly, "Right where you need to be. Come over here, daddy. You've got work to do."

Hiccup was a little stunned when the nurse called him 'daddy'. It was still surreal to think that very soon, he was going to be a father, and Astrid was going to be a mother. They were going to be a family. Life from now on was going to be changed forever. He was going to be like his own father...a parent. There was no going back.

It was exciting to think that soon he was going to meet a new little person, one that he and Astrid had created. He was thrilled at the prospect, but he was also scared silly. They couldn't change this or decide they didn't want to do this anymore. This was it. For the next twenty years he and Astrid were going to be responsible for raising a child to send out into the world. And he felt totally unprepared for the mammoth task ahead.

"Earth to Hiccup," said Astrid, snapping her fingers at her frozen husband.

"I think he's broken," said the nurse with a smirk, setting up the gas machine.

"I hope he un-breaks soon," Astrid said with a groan, as a new wave of discomfort took over. "I need him."

At the sound of his wife's labour, Hiccup came back to life. There was a long, painful process to go through first before they could meet their child. He rubbed Astrid's back, while the nurse explained how to use the gas machine. Once the contraction was over, she examined Astrid to check how far along she was, recording all she found on a clipboard.

She smiled encouragingly at the new parents-to-be. "Not much longer now."

And she was right. Two hours later….

"Your babe has arrived," said the nurse, taking delivery of the crying newborn. She quickly wrapped the baby, and clamped the umbilical cord before asking an emotional Hiccup, "Do you want to cut the cord?"

He dumbly nodded yes, and took the scissors she gave him, cutting through the thick, spongy cord that had nourished his child for the last nine months. Once that was done, the nurse unwrapped the baby a little to place him skin to skin on an exhausted Astrid's chest.

"You have a son. Congratulations," she told the elated young couple, who were gazing at their baby in total awe.

"He's beautiful," whispered Astrid, staring at the new life in front of her. He was warm and unexpectedly heavy. She couldn't believe how attached she already felt to him, and how protective she was of him. Her arms had automatically curled around this new being as if he had always belonged there.

Hiccup had tears on his cheeks as he met his son for the first time. He couldn't stop staring, he just wanted to drink him in and become familiar with every little finger and toe, every chubby curve. He traced his thumb so very gently over the tiny creased brow, before stroking over the soft cheek. Sitting against Astrid, he held his little family close.

"Hey, little guy. Welcome to the world," he whispered.

Turning to give his wife a long, thankful kiss, he said, "You did it, Astrid. You're amazing."

Astrid smiled tiredly up at him. She looked absolutely exhausted, her face slightly puffy and pale, her hair untidy on the pillow behind her. But to him, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her courage and strength in doing what she had done to bring forth their son, had him admiring her on a whole new level.

Astrid focused on their bundle of joy, encouraging the babe to latch onto her breast. To her surprise, he did. It was an unusual sensation…and felt a little sharpish. She sucked in her breath at the shock.

Hiccup chuckled. "He's going to grow up strong like his mum."

She smiled softly at her son. "As long as he's as smart and caring like his dad."

Hiccup kissed her temple. "We'll teach him everything we know," he said gently.

There was a pause while they both watched the babe suckle, his eyes closed with a little fist resting against his cheek. The moment couldn't be more perfect.

"Except how to be a pillow thief."


End file.
